1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gateway server and a method of obtaining a contents. More particularly, the present invention relates to a gateway server for arbitrating a communication between a small terminal and a contents server, and a method of obtaining a contents.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, small terminals 1-1 to 1-4 are connected through a network infrastructure 4 to a gateway server 2. The gateway server 2 is also connected through the network infrastructure 4 to contents servers 3-1 to 3-4.
The small terminals 1-1 to 1-4, when receiving a request of a contents retrieval from a user, requests the gateway server 2 to retrieve the contents, and displays the contents retrieved through the I/O device 2 from the contents servers 3-1 to 3-4.
The gateway server 2 is the device for carrying out an arbitration between the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4 and the contents servers 3-1 to 3-4. It accepts a request of a contents retrieval from the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4. It checks whether the contents requested from the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4 is present on a LAN or present on an Internet 5. If the contents is present on the LAN, it requests the contents servers 3-1 to 3-4 on the LAN to retrieve the contents requested from the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4. If the contents is present on the Internet 5, it requests the contents servers 3-1 to 3-2 on the Internet 5 to retrieve the contents requested from the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4. If the gateway server 2 succeeds in retrieving the contents requested through the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4 from the contents servers 3-1 to 3-4, distributes the retrieved contents to the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4.
The contents servers 3-1 to 3-4 are the devices for storing therein the contents and distributing the requested contents. They search for the contents requested from the gateway server 2 through the contents servers 3-1 to 3-4. If they can search for the contents, the contents servers 3-1 to 3-4 retrieve the searched contents, and distribute to the gateway server 2 of the request source. If the contents can not be searched, the contents servers 3-1 to 3-4 distribute an error message indicative of an absence of the contents to the gateway server 2 of the request source.
The network infrastructure 4 is the communication network to which the small terminal 1, the gateway server 2 and the contents server 3 are connected. The distributed contents on which the request of the contents retrieval is performed flows through the communication network.
The gateway server 2 simply relays the request of the contents retrieval from the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4 and the contents to the contents servers 3-1 to 3-4 and the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4. Thus, there may be a case that the requested contents is a picture contents, and thereby the display performance of the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4 is not sufficient, and accordingly the retrieved picture contents is not correctly displayed on the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4. In order to display the picture contents on the small terminals 1-1 to 1-4, a generator of the contents must generate two kinds of picture contents for a typical terminal and a small terminal.
A known server apparatus noted in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei, 11-250009) receives a release information of a terminal together with a request of a contents retrieval of the terminal, and performs a data conversion on the retrieved contents so as to match with the terminal, in accordance with the release information. Also, the server apparatus stores therein a database of a release information correlated with an ID of the terminal, and receives the ID of the terminal together with the request of the contents retrieval of the terminal, and captures the release information corresponding to the ID from the database, and then performs the data conversion on the retrieved contents so as to match with the terminal. Such a server apparatus must change a method of converting a data, in accordance with the release information. Thus, its process is complex, and its processing speed is slow. Moreover, such a server apparatus requires a memory for storing therein the database. Hence, its manufacturing cost is further expensive.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei, 10-149309) discloses a digital picture information accumulation system as described below. Installation terminals are installed at a plurality of locations at streets. A digital picture information obtained by the portable terminal during a movement is transferred at a high speed to the installation terminal at any position, and transiently accumulated in it. Then, an attribute information of the accumulated stored digital picture information is generated and transferred to a digital information server connected through a first network, and unitarily managed. This digital information server connects an installation terminal accumulating therein a digital picture information of a concerned person, to a computer of the concerned person of a house or an office accessing through a second network, and then transfers its digital picture information to the computer.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei, 10-162002) discloses an Internet browsing apparatus. The visibility and the operational performance can be improved by mounting: a picture data expander for expanding a reception picture data, generating a picture data and obtaining a picture size; a screen size setter for setting a size of a display screen size; and a display position modifier for calculating display positions of a character and a picture from a reception character data and the picture size and modifying the display positions so as to satisfy a lateral size of the display screen.